Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 May 23

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Today's featured article
Teresa Cristina (1822–1889) was the Empress consort of Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil, who reigned from 1831 to 1889. Born a Princess of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, she was the daughter of King Don Francesco I of the Italian branch of the House of Bourbon and his wife Maria Isabel. The Princess was married by proxy to Pedro II in 1843. Despite a cold beginning, the couple's relationship improved as time passed, due primarily to Teresa Cristina's patience, kindness, generosity and simplicity. These traits also helped her win the hearts of the Brazilian people, and her distance from political controversies shielded her from criticism. Of her four children, two boys died in infancy and a daughter of typhoid fever at the early age of 24. She, along with the remaining members of the Imperial Family, was sent into exile after a coup d'état staged by a clique of army officers in 1889. Being cast from her beloved adopted land had a devastating effect on Teresa Cristina's spirit and health. Grieving and ill, she died of respiratory failure little more than a month after the monarchy's collapse. She was greatly loved by her subjects, both during her lifetime and afterwards. Teresa Cristina is well regarded by historians not only for her character and irreproachable behavior, but also for her sponsorship of Brazilian culture. (more...) Recently featured: Ahalya – Mary Anning – C. D. Howe Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the April 1894 Salon des Cent exhibition (poster shown) was devoted to the work of Eugène Grasset? ... that Napoleon Bonaparte had great interest in geometry, but probably did not discover Napoleon points? ... that dramatist Kevin Laffan could not find a publisher for his first novel, Pendle's Disposal, but had two offers within a week of changing the title to Virgins are in Short Supply? ... that students of the Jack Welch Management Institute participate in video conferences with the founder, whom Fortune magazine named Manager of the Century? ... that the large prehistoric amphibian Cyclotosaurus had a skull up to 70 cm (28 in) long? ... that Eagle's Store, structurally similar to the Old Faithful Inn, has been operated by the same family since its founding in 1908? ... that Nino Fernandez, who had his breakthrough role as a gay character, dated Miss Indonesia 2009? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The COTS 2 Falcon 9 successfully launches with the Dragon spacecraft on 22 May 2012. SpaceX launches (pictured) a Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket, the first commercial flight to the International Space Station. A suicide bombing kills more than 120 people in Sana'a, Yemen. Tomislav Nikolić is elected President of Serbia. British singer-songwriter Robin Gibb, a member of the Bee Gees, dies at the age of 62. In ice hockey, the IIHF World Championship concludes with Russia defeating Slovakia in the final. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted in 2001 in connection with the Lockerbie bombing, dies in Libya. The 38th G8 summit takes place at Camp David, the U.S. presidential retreat. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
May 23 1430 – Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc was captured at the Siege of Compiègne. 1706 – War of the Spanish Succession: Led by the Duke of Marlborough, the allied forces of England, the Dutch Republic, and Denmark defeated the Franco-Bavarian army in Ramillies, present-day Belgium. 1873 – The North West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was established to bring law and order to and assert Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Territories. 1895 – Representatives of the Astor Library and Lenox Library agreed to merge and form the New York Public Library (pictured under construction in 1908), now the second-largest public library in the United States. 1951 – Delegates of the 14th Dalai Lama and the government of the newly established People's Republic of China signed the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, affirming Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. More anniversaries: May 22 – May 23 – May 24 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now May 23, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A Japanese lithograph depicting the capture of Blagoveshchensk, Siberia, by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Siberian Intervention, part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil War. The Allied invasion took place in August 1918, and Japanese troops remained in Russia until October 1922.

Image: Shobido & Co.; Restoration: Adam Cuerden

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